Anyone who resides in the United Kingdom will not have any difficulties finding somewhere to gamble online. UK customers are welcomed by a huge range of gambling sites, so there are plenty of options available. Which option should you go with? That’s where things DO get difficult, at least if you want to make the right choice. There might be lots of options, but they’re not all of the same standard.
Don’t worry, though, because we’re here to help. We’ve tested and compared a large number of sites and then ranked them based on several important factors. We have provided these rankings below; they represent the very best UK gambling sites at this moment in time.
Since online gambling is fully legalised and regulated in the UK, betting and gaming on the internet is not the minefield that it is in some other parts of the world. It’s relatively easy to find somewhere that is, at the very least, safe and trustworthy. Most of the biggest brands in the industry cater to the UK market, and of course these big brands can be trusted.
The thing is, simply picking a site because they’re run by a well-known name isn’t necessarily the correct approach. Having an established reputation and a long history are positives, but they aren’t the sole measure of what makes for a good site. In order to get the most out of your online gambling experience, you want to be absolutely sure that you pick one of the very best sites. So please don’t base your choice on name alone.
It’s for these reasons that we have put in a great deal of time and effort in order to produce the above rankings. We’ve assessed a wide range of different sites (not just those run by big names) in order to determine which ones truly have the most to offer. There are several different factors that we take into account, as we believe it’s important to look at the whole package. We won’t list all of the factors, but here are just a few of the key attributes we look into.
- Licensed by UK Gambling Commission
- Easy to Sign Up and Deposit
- Bet and Play in Pounds Sterling
- Range of Gambling Activities Available
- Generous Bonuses and Rewards
- Fast Withdrawals
- Helpful and Responsive Customer Service
- Compatible with Mobile Devices
We try to only recommend sites that perform well in all of these key areas. If you are looking for somewhere new to join right now, we honestly don’t believe you’ll find anywhere better than our recommendations. By selecting any one of these sites, you can rest assured knowing that you’ll receive a great service and have a positive experience. If you want more information on any of them, just click the relevant button to read a detailed review first.
We have some more information on this page for you, too, including alternative gambling sites that you might be interested in if you’re looking for something more specific. We’ve also provided some useful advice if you’d prefer to choose a site by yourself, and we’ve explained how gambling is regulated in the UK.
Alternative Casino Onlines
Many gambling sites these days offer a variety of different betting and gaming activities, and we class these as “all-in-one” gambling sites. If you want to enjoy a range of activities at one single online destination, using just one account, then these are the type of sites that you should be using. It’s mostly these sites that we considered when compiling the rankings for this page.
There are also many specialized sites that focus either entirely or primarily on one specific type of gambling. These are possibly better options for those of you who are only really interested in a single form of betting or gaming. Again, though, you want to make sure that you use the right site. The same point we made earlier applies here, too.
The biggest names are not always the best.
Take the big bookmakers, for example. You might assume that these are the best firms to bet with online, just because they’ve been around for a long time and you’re familiar with their betting shops that are spread across the country. That’s not necessarily the case, though. They shouldn’t automatically be your first choice just because they’re a big name. There are plenty of less-well-known brands that are just as trustworthy, and well worthy of consideration.
So when we’re ranking the best online bookmakers, we look at a wide range of options, just the same as when ranking the sites on this page. We do the same for online casinos, online poker rooms, online bingo sites, and horse racing betting sites. All of these rankings can be seen on the following pages, and again, all of our recommendations meet the highest standards. They’re all licensed by the UK Gambling Commission, too.
Choosing a Site Yourself
It would be quite understandable if you prefer to choose a site by yourself, rather than simply following one of our recommendations. If you’re going to be depositing your hard-earned money, then why should you simply take our word for which sites are best? Well, there are actually quite a few reasons why, but the point is that you might not want to.
Far from being offended by this, we’d like to help you. Be warned, though, that if you want to do this properly, it’s going to take both time and effort.
Gambling is big business in the United Kingdom, as it’s a very popular and socially acceptable pastime for many of the population. Unlike in some parts of the world, there’s clear legislation that makes online gambling completely legal, and the industry is very well regulated. Because of these reasons, many gambling sites cater to the UK market. This, in turn, is why UK residents have so much choice of where to bet and play on the web.
This probably won’t come as a surprise to you, as gambling sites advertise heavily in the UK. The chances that UK citizens will see these ads on the internet, in print, on television, and even on the radio are very high. These advertisements tend to make signing up with them seem like a very enticing proposition. They often even throw in an attractive lady or two, just for good measure.
We have created the above advertisement for an imaginary casino in order to highlight some of the issues we have with ads like these. For starters, they provide no information to help you make an informed decision about whether this is a good site to join or not. They just want you to visit their website, and they’re hoping that their bonus offer will be enough to get you there.
Good bonuses are a proven way to attract new customers, and this is why ads tend to focus on their sign-up offer. However, while sites don’t tend to make wildly inaccurate statements in their ads, you do have to take them with a grain of salt. Take the offer we showed above. Although we made it up, it closely represents the real ads out there today. Did you notice the small text that reads, “Terms and Conditions Apply”? That’s there for a reason.
You see, when a site offers “£200 free”, they don’t actually mean they’re going to give you £200 for nothing. You’ll have to make a deposit first, and then you’ll have to meet certain wagering requirements. They leave that information out in their ad. They’ll hit you with the terms and conditions later, once you’ve already made your mind up to join.
A lot of people do choose their gambling site based on ads, but we strongly recommend that you don’t. You’ll be able to make a more educated decision once you compare all the options for yourself and decide which one is right for you. The problem with doing this is that it’s very time-consuming. There’s a lot of research to do if you want to check out all the relevant information. Even then, you can only get a real feel for a site by actually using it. This means you need to deposit money at lots of different sites, and then test out everything that they have to offer.
Gambling Regulation in the UK
We’ve mentioned a couple of times how online gambling in the United Kingdom is both legal and fully regulated. Please don’t take this for granted, as other parts of the world are lacking in this area. In the United States, for example, the legal and regulatory landscape is incredibly confusing. Most gamblers there have to use offshore sites that are licensed in online gambling jurisdictions such as Costa Rica, Panama, and Curacao. Although many of these sites are trustworthy enough, they’re not subject to the same strict set of regulatory rules that UK gambling sites are.
Gambling sites wishing to provide their services to UK residents MUST be approved and licensed by the UK Gambling Commission. This organization was set up under the terms of the Gambling Act of 2005, and has responsibilities relating to virtually all forms of gambling in the region.
Gambling Commission Responsibilities
The commission is required to ensure the following.
- That gambling is crime free
- That operators are fair and open
- That children aren’t vulnerable
The commission licenses operators and individuals that provide the following.
- Arcades
- Betting Services
- Bingo Games
- Casino Games
- Gambling Software
- Gaming Machines
- Lotteries
- Remote Gambling
You can read more about the Gambling Commission on
our page on UK gambling laws and regulations.
Any site that operates in the UK without being licensed by the Gambling Commission is acting in violation of UK law. There are some unlicensed sites that will accept UK customers, though, which is yet another reason for being selective in where you join. If you use one of these and have any kind of problem, you’ll have no recourse to anybody.
All of the sites we recommend on this page are licensed by the UK Gambling Commission, so you can use any of them and be safe in the knowledge that you’re dealing with a reputable operator.
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